Following up on the ultimatum delivered by Punchline bassist Chris Fafalios, that due to "a delay over at iTunes" their new EP So Nice To Meet You did not launch Tuesday morning, but did make it to the iTunes store by Tuesday evening. Underthegunereview.com posted the band statement:

"Trying to laugh it off that the album isn't live on iTunes and be optimistic that it will be there in the next few minutes. Everything is good on our end, just up to iTunes to do their part. I'll bet LMFAO doesn't have this problem, but they do have rather large glasses and hair. Your support is overwhelming. Seriously. It's beautiful when people come together for a cause, and I can't believe we are the cause of the day. All I ask is you to be patient and cross your fingers for me."

You can purchase the album now on iTunes (currently ranked at #8). Click Read More to have a listen to "Everything I Wanted" from the EP.

If you watched the video Chris seems pretty sincere about it. And I'd say it's a pretty smart way to get the word out about the EP.

Also, if Chris decides "Hey, we made it to #1 on the rock charts, if we can't beat Adele I'm not going to quit the band over that" I would not blame him. After all, the only people who are going to talk bad about the guy for NOT quitting his band are people who already don't like the band, so who cares what those people think? Worst thing a person/band can do is try too hard to please the meaningless part of the population.

Well all I can say is when you're in your 30's and you've been in the same band for 15 years, there comes a time where you have to start making some tough decisions if things are not playing out the way they need to in order for you to stay engaged. It only took me 8 years in a band to get to that point, so I give these guys a lot of credit for continuing to do what they do.

make a tough decision? sure, i understand that. i am in my 30s and i was never in a band that lasted long enough or had enough success to have to make that call. but to blatantly advertise it like this? that's not a hard decision, that's a gimmick.

Touche, it's nice to have money. But to be so fixed on success that you'll lie, or get butthurt, or otherwise demand your fans to fork out and make you as famous as other ex-FBR bands just doesn't strike me as the most likeable thing to do.

Your assumption is that he's lying. And do you think their fans feel pressured, being asked to pay $5 for 5 songs? If anything they're more likely to make honest customers out of fans who might have otherwise pirated it (myself included) and nobody who doesn't like the band is going to go spending money. It's certainly a marketing ploy and good for them, marketing is an unfortunate but necessary part of the music industry. If you can't market yourselves one way or another, you eventually have no choice but to quit anyway. I know this firsthand. Better to go down fighting than worry about what all the internet naysayers who already hate your band are going to think.

Fair enough about marketing, I guess. Needing to shift a few units is essential, especially, as you say, with the pirating. It's just, as I say, that it's either a quite dishonest tactic, or someone being a little bit babyish about lack of success. If they want success, they could focus on stepping up their game musically, rather than publicity stunts.

Also, I don't know much about this band beyond their reviews on here, this, and their calling out Brokencyde for their lyrics (which I respect hugely, though someone people say that was a stunt too), so I wouldn't count myself as a hater.

Well I'll say this. In the 8 years I was in a band I met and played with a LOT of different people, and the guys in Punchline were some of the nicest and most genuine guys I'd ever come across. Always had a great time hanging out with them and while my musical tastes generally lean away from the less aggressive pop punk stuff, I think these guys do it very well and I've always enjoyed their albums.

Anyway, I bought the EP and I'm rooting for them as a good band and good guys who I hope can keep making music together.

basically, this. I've booked dozens of bands over the years, and for a little while there was a D.I.Y. venue in my hometown, I booked a lot of bands there, many of whom are bands people on this site actually like, anyway, I also booked Punchline because a lot of the younger kids like them and they were always really good to work with and I figured it'd get new people to come and check out the space. They didn't have to, no one asked them to, but they donated all of the proceeds from their merch to the DIY space. 100%. No one else did (nor should they have to, obviously) but this always made them stand out for me. They also decided to not re-sign on with FBR when they had the chance and decided to just do everything themselves, potentially a kind of stupid idea, but I've always really respected them for it. I've never been a huge huge fan of the music, at least not since i was like 16, but they are some of the most legit dudes that I've met in my 15 years of going to punk shows and being involved with putting them on. I wouldn't have gone about promoting an album this this way, but I've known them for so long and know they work really hard and fuck it, I want to see them "make it" if that's what they want to do. I really can't say enough nice things about them. Great dudes.

I love this. Seriously, they've always been great dudes to me and their fans.
And Gunner- man, I wish we could have talked about this a week ago, because I was ranting SO HARD all weekend about how mad I was at Chris' ultimatum and you've brought some sense to this conversation. As a fan myself, it felt like a really manipulative and disrespectful move to their fans, and I didn't think anything good could come of it. What has happened, though, is I've seen the band really push yesterday and today and their fans have come together more than I've seen in a while, which is inspiring. #7 is pretty high on those charts and I doubted before it happened that they'd even get into the top 10. I definitely wouldn't have done it the same way or advised the move, and I still think it's kind of rude, but it's clearly worked to get everyone else amped up.

Is this the same Katy I met at Mr. Smalls back in the day? If so, hello again!

I can understand how it can seem manipulative, but I guess I sympathize more with Chris's position than the average fan. Quitting a band after 15 years is going to affect his life far more than even the cumulative effects on all Punchline fans everywhere. Even if Punchline breaks up, how much impact does that really have on the lives of their fanbase? Not that much. You didn't see a bunch of teenage girls throwing themselves off cliffs when Fall Out Boy broke up, though their fans were sufficiently rabid.

So he's saying if you toss down $5 on an EP you may have bought anyway later on, you have a chance of proving to him that this band is worth continuing giving his life to, to the detriment of any variety of other dreams he might have. It's a pretty tiny thing to ask of your fans. Think about what it's like to have people think your band broke up years ago while you've been putting out album after album. I don't blame him for wondering if it's worth it. Because let's remember we're not just talking about a fun band that you play with your friends in on the weekend. Being in a touring band, especially at their level, is like a full time job that (probably) doesn't even put a ding in the rent. You have to give up a lot of yourself to be involved in something like that and keep going well into adulthood. I was 28 when I finally got sick of living with my parents and knew that Much The Same was never going to succeed enough to get me a place of my own, let alone be able to support a family. I probably would have done something much like Chris if I thought more than a couple hundred people would even notice. =)

Anyway, could they have reached the same iTunes rank with a regular facebook campaign promoting the new EP? Maybe, but I doubt it. We certainly wouldn't be here talking about it, and I probably wouldn't have bought it. Not because I don't like them or think it's worth $5, but simply because my priorities in life are not really on music anymore. But to help a friend feel like his life choices are valid? Heck yeah I'll give him $5. It IS a good EP, after all. =)

Yeah, apparently they were attacked by those likely lads, after one of Punchline's members spoke out against the misogyny in Brokencyde's lyrics. A lot of people thought it looked a little like a publicity stunt though.

the singer/guitar player is on a fox tv reality show tonight. .......jus' sayin' i really do wish these dudes the best of the luck, but im not sure i would go about things in a similar manner.... then again, my band broke up, and they are still doing it, so...

The dude in the interview said he was ready to quit because his band just couldn't make it. Judging by this song alone, it might be because nothing really sets this band apart from the other one billion watery pop-star post-punk bands that exist today, and the kids are already moving on from this nonsense dressed in punk clothes. My advice: if you like punk, stop trying to "make it" and make some genuine punk music with some edge. Since when were so-called "punks" so concerned with charting and writing popular songs?